Star's Choice
by random-riter
Summary: Star will be taking the throne soon. And, if that wasn't stressful enough, her mother wants her to find a king. But, without that many possible suitors, who will Star choose?


**I'm half-asleep and felt like writing something. This is the result of that. Enjoy.**

Star Butterfly stood on her balcony and shivered in the cold night air. Below her, townspeople were finishing their daily routines, closing up stores, herding livestock back into small barns, calling their children to bed. Star watched as, one by one, the candles lighting the peasants' modest huts went out, and the town turned dark and still.

Star sighed. She would be taking the throne soon. After all, she was nearly 20 years old. Her mother, Moon Butterfly, took the throne when she was only 17, though that was due to…unusual circumstances. Still, Star's mother thought that 20 was a good age for the girl to ascend the throne.

And the stress of it was weighing on Star.

More specifically, Moon thought it was about time for Star to start thinking about a king. Her partner in ruling Mewni. Or, in layman's terms, her husband. It was _that_ part that was stressing Star out more than anything.

Star stared out over the corn fields, the Forest of Certain Death, the sleepy town below, and sighed again. How on Mewni was she supposed to choose a king? There weren't that many princes on Mewni to begin with. Plus one of them was Tom, her on-again-off-again boyfriend. At the moment, they're definitely off. Probably forever. It wasn't that Tom isn't a sweet guy. It's just that, their relationship was always pretty fickle. It was either great or terrible. Not the kind of relationship you would want for your king and queen.

Star rested her head in her hands as she leaned against the balcony's railing. There was one other possibility, which Moon had pointed out, much to Star's surprise. But he –

There was a knock at Star's bedroom door, derailing Star's train of thought.

"It's open," called the princess.

The bedroom door creaked open to reveal Marco Diaz, Star's best friend and squire. They met during Star's time on Earth and had a pretty good time together until Star had to return to Mewni around the time she turned 16. To everyone's surprise, Marco insisted he return with her. "After all the things we've been through, Earth just won't be the same without you. So, if you'll let me, I want to come with you."

When his words left Star speechless, River, Star's dad, gladly accepted on her behalf, deciding that Marco would be Star's squire from that moment forward. And, after assuring his parents he would visit once or twice a month, Marco became a fully-fledged citizen on Mewni.

Since then, Marco grew to be, not only Star's, but the royal family's most trusted advisor. He was fiercely loyal to the Butterfly family and proved to be a fairly talented diplomat. Unfortunately, his talent also meant he had to spend more time away from Star than either of them wanted.

And it left Star feeling somewhat abandoned.

But now, she was just glad he was here.

"Yo," he called as he walked over to join Star at the balcony.

"Yo."

"It's pretty late," commented Marco. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"If you thought I was in bed, why'd you come to my room?" replied Star, shooting him a playful smirk.

Marco responded without hesitating. "Because I knew you'd still be awake. Something's been eating at you recently. Wanna talk about it?"

Star sighed once more and returned her gaze to the town. "You know me too well, Diaz." They sat in silence for a moment before Star continued, "I'll be taking the throne soon."

"Doesn't sound so bad to me," replied Marco.

"But my mom…she wants me to find a king."

"That…sounds a little more challenging."

Star chuckled. "You think? There's already so few possible suitors and I don't particularly like any of them. I mean, I guess I don't really need a king, right? Seven-Greats-Grandma Solaria never took a king. Come to think of it, I don't think Grandma Comet took a king either."

Marco turned so his back was against the railing and he was facing towards Star's room. "Then just don't take a king. Simple as that, right?"

"But…"

"But?"

"But…I'd still need…at the very least…a…lover…"

Marco fell silent. They both stood there, unmoving, for a few more seconds before Star turned to face Marco, unable to stand the silence. She saw he had turned his head and was facing away from Star. The princess knew from experience that this meant he was blushing. The young man hadn't considered the fact that the Butterfly lineage needed to continue after Star. So, even if there wasn't a king, there would still need to be a child. And it seemed the thought had been somewhat embarrassing to Marco.

Seeing his embarrassment, Star couldn't hold back a giggle, and, a moment later, neither could Marco. Soon the two of them were both on the floor, clenching their stomach as they howled with laughter in the dead of night.

When they finally recovered and rose to their feet, Marco continued the conversation. "What about your mother? What does she think you should do?"

Star returned to her spot, leaning against the railing, looking out over the darkened houses, hoping to avoid Marco's gaze. "She has…given her input."

"Meaning?"

"She said she would want me to marry…someone like you." That wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't false either.

Marco was quiet for a moment as he moved back into his position, back against the railing, facing Star's room. "'Someone like me', huh?" He fell silent once again.

'No,' thought Star. 'Not someone like you. _You_. You're mom's first choice. And…you're my first choice, too.'

"Well, I guess I'd want to marry someone like you, too," came Marco's reply, after a few moments of quiet.

Without really thinking about it, Star asked, "Forget someone like me. Would you marry me?"

Again, Marco didn't hesitate. "In a heartbeat."

The two stood there, side by side, yet facing opposite directions, realizing what they had just admitted. For a moment, neither moved. Then, slowly, they turned to face each other, and, all at once, 6 years-worth of memories came flooding back to them. All their adventures. All their mistakes. Always having each other's back. Always protecting each other.

And, all at once, they realized they could never live without one another.

"Forget hypotheticals," said Marco, quietly. Taking Star's hand and falling to one knee, he asked, "Will you marry me?"

Though Star's reply came as a whisper, it seemed to echo through the empty night. "In a heartbeat."

Rising to his feet, Marco pulled his best friend into a deep kiss.

In that moment, the world fell away. All the troubles of reality were melted away by a single kiss.

They were together. They were inseparable. And they would stay that way forever.


End file.
